''Jack, or The Submission'' (french: Jacques ou la soumission) is an absurdist play by

Eugène Ionesco Eugène Ionesco (; born Eugen Ionescu, ; 26 November 1909 – 28 March 1994) was a Romanian-French playwright who wrote mostly in French, and was one of the foremost figures of the French avant-garde theatre in the 20th century. Ionesco inst ...

, the first of two about Jack and his family (the second being ''

The Future is in Eggs ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...

''), all of whom are named after Jack (Father Jack, Mother Jack, etc.). The thrust of the narrative involves Jack's arranged marriage to Roberta and, when the first Roberta is not satisfactory, Roberta II. The play contains nonsensical exchanges and strings of clichés, similar to '' The Bald Soprano'', and the sort of

surreal Surreal may refer to: *Anything related to or characteristic of Surrealism, a movement in philosophy and art * "Surreal" (song), a 2000 song by Ayumi Hamasaki * ''Surreal'' (album), an album by Man Raze *Surreal humour, a common aspect of humor ...

conceits (Roberta's multiple noses, for example) common in many of Ionesco's later plays.

References

* Allen, Donald M., trans. 1958. ''The Bald Soprano and Other Plays: The Bald Soprano; The Lesson; Jack, or The Submission; The Chairs''. By

. New York: Grove Weidenfeld, 1982. . Plays by Eugène Ionesco 1955 plays French plays Theatre of the Absurd One-act plays {{1950s-play-stub